Back to reality: keys to September success for financial advisors

By Emily Hutto

ProducersWEB

"Where are all the financial advisors?" I thought to myself this summer. Their interaction on ProducersWEB was limited, and their social media presence sparse.

So I did some research, and it turns out that the lack of activity among advisors might just be because of a lack of advisors in general. Cerulli Associates' latest brokerage industry market share report says that there are 7,000 fewer advisors in 2012 than there were in 2011, a 2.3 percent decrease. That number is expected to decrease another 1.2 percent each year over the next five years.

An article on clientwise.com confirms my hunch that many financial advisors go out of town and completely check out during the warmer months. It also suggests that after Labor Day, they all come out of hiding in a big way. “One common pattern that we see with elite financial advisors is their activity levels, especially in September,” says the article. “In the month of September, they run like Usain Bolt, i.e. full-on Olympic, world-record sprint mode.”

The article goes on to suggest that for most advisors, the fourth quarter of the year is so lucrative that it spills over into the following year. “We’ll make the case that September is THE most important month of the year … for financial advisors who want to generate momentum that sustains them throughout much of the entire year,” it says.

In order to sustain that momentum, says the article, advisors should prioritize their clients, reach out to the clients who have been the best sources of referrals, collaborate with fellow trusted advisors, reassess value propositions and make the commitment to not procrastinate.